Resting in Peace Chapter 2: May 3, 1998, a harry potter fanfic

(May 3, 1998)

"Answer me! CRUCIO!" [1]

Bellatrix' curse inflicted pain. Tremendous amounts of blinding, searing, flesh-ripping pain that she was already too familiar with. Only this time, it was not her who was screaming and writhing in agony on the marble floor in the salon of Malfoy Manor.

It was Ron.

And all she could do was screaming his name and begging Bellatrix to stop. Apart from that, she could not move, could not come to his help, as she seemed to be paralyzed by some weird incomplete version of the Body-Bind Curse. Or something like that. She could not be too sure.

"HERMIONE!"

"Oooh, you want me to stop, Mudblood, do ya?" Bellatrix spat, looking down at her with a malicious glint in her black eyes. "Very well. I will do as you wish. This filthy dirtbag of a blood traitor is of no use anyway."

And with that, she turned back towards Ron and trained her wand on him.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"HERMIONE!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hermione cried as Ron's body, still twitching from the residue of the Cruciatus, was hit by a green jet of light and then unceremoniously thudded to the floor, lifeless like a sack of coal.

It could not be. This could not be happening. Now sobbing in earnest, cheeks drenched with tears, body trembling violently, she squeezed her eyes shut because as long as she did not have to see his dead body, she could still make herself believe that he was alive and that things would somehow, miraculously, turn out fine.

"HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"

Her body was now uncontrollably shaking with sobs. And through all of this, she could feel the presence of a person close to her, holding her by the shoulder. But that was impossible. None of the persons in the salon would call her by her name.

Or would they?

Slowly, Hermione opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a very concerned-looking Ginny.

It did not take long for her to do the math. She was lying on the familiar cot in Ginny's room, she had had a nightmare, Ginny had shaken her up and, judging by the mass of people in the small room, she must have screamed in her sleep and woken up the entire house. There were Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry, George, Percy and...

"Ron!" she cried out, her arms reaching out for him.

Ron immediately made his way towards her, squeezing past his family members, and dropped to his knees beside the cot. Once he was close enough, Hermione's arms flung around him and she hugged him tightly to herself, pressing his face firmly into her shoulder as she continued to weep without restraint. She did not care about the fact that Harry and the other Weasleys were still around, did not care about how ridiculous she must be looking. All that was important to her now was Ron and the knowledge that he was safe and sound and alive.

His presence and warmth slowly calmed her and eventually, her cries became quiet enough for her to hear the sounds of hushed conversations and people walking out of the room. With a last sniffle, she loosened her hold on Ron just enough so that he could sit upright. She looked around and noted that everyone else had left, except for Harry and Ginny who were looking down at her with uneasy expressions.

"Are you all right?" Ginny asked. "Mum wants to know if you need something. She also brought you some sleeping potion," she added, pointing at a glass on her nightstand.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "And I don't want the potion."

"Are you serious?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Yes," Hermione replied. "I've been taking this potion every single day since... well, for far too long already," she skidded around her torture that the Weasleys did not - yet - know about. "I need to learn dealing without it. I can't depend on that stuff for the rest of my life."

Ginny looked at her with suspicion but did not ask any questions which Hermione was tremendously grateful for.

"You didn't take it every day, did you?" Ron piped up.

"No. You were there," Hermione said simply.

It was true. There had been two nights after the torture in which Hermione had not taken the potion: the first one was the night right after the incident because Bill and Fleur had yet had to brew a stash, the second was the previous night, which she had spent at Hogwarts. And in both these nights, Ron had stayed by her side.

Harry was obviously riding along on her train of thought.

"If Ron can keep you from having nightmares, maybe he should stay with you tonight," he suggested tentatively.

Hermione's stomach made a flip. She was slightly embarrassed by the notion that she might now become dependent on Ron, but she found the prospect of having him with her too appealing to dismiss. She uncertainly looked up at him. His face was flushed but he was warmly smiling down at her and nodded ever so slightly.

"Okay," she whispered and let go of him. Ron got to his feet and lowered himself to sit on the cot.

Upon which Ginny emitted a sound that reminded Hermione very much of Ron whenever he thought of Harry and Ginny spending time alone together.

"Erm, perhaps we should switch rooms," Harry interjected wisely.

It spoke volumes that Ron either did not realize or did not mind that this would also lead to Harry and Ginny in one room.

"Yeah, I guess we should," he said meekly and turned back to Hermione. "Is that okay?"

"Uh-huh," Hermione said and Ron took her hands into his and stood up, taking her along with him.

"Night then," he said to Harry and Ginny.

"Yeah, night... And thanks for everything," Hermione said.

"Night," Harry and Ginny responded.

Still holding Hermione's hand, Ron then turned on the spot and the next moment, the pair of them turned up in Ron's room with a little pop. He stepped over to his bed and made an inviting sort of gesture to Hermione, but she just shook her head.

"No, you first," she said.

He raised a brow in confusion but then shrugged and got under the blankets, rolling onto his side so that he faced her. She immediately followed and took him into her arms while he embraced her, and she rested her forehead against his.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," she mumbled several moments later. "I must look like such a baby."

"Don't fuss," Ron replied and ran a hand through her hair before he pulled away to look into her eyes. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Hermione closed her eyes and nodded. "I dreamt about Bellatrix," she said, took a breath and opened her eyes again. "But this time, it was... y-you whom she tortured and then she... k-killed you..."

She closed her eyes another time in order to hold in the tears that were threatening to spill out. With a groan, Ron briefly squeezed her to himself and then cupped her cheek in his hand, gently stroking away the tears that had escaped her after all.

"Hey, look at me," he said and when she opened her eyes, her gaze was returned by one of utmost sincerity.

"It was just a dream," Ron said with emphasis. "Just a dream. Look. I'm here. You're here. And she's gone. She can no longer do anything to us. To anyone."

"Yeah, but it felt so real," Hermione said with a shudder.

"I know," Ron said and it made Hermione wonder if he had also had dreams about the Manor. But before she made the decision to ask him that, he had already continued, "But isn't real. The war is over. We're all safe. And as for me, well, I'm afraid you're stuck with me. I'm definitely not gonna die on you. "

Hermione chuckled and gave him a quick peck on the nose. "Right. And I won't let you," she said and then she pushed him onto his back and rolled over so that she was half lying on top of him in a protective manner, one hand on his shoulder and her head on his chest. His arms immediately went around her and she closed her eyes. And his scent, the warmth of his body, the steady, somewhat accelerated beat of his heart, the soft rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, all this slowly calmed her into a pleasant state of drowsiness.

"I love you," she whispered sleepily.

"I love you, too," Ron murmured in response. "You have no idea how much."

She lightly tilted her head and placed a lingering kiss on his chest, then resumed her previous position. And before sleep came to take her away completely, she reveled in the feeling of being alive.